Khan put as much energy he could muster into his escape. He ignored his surroundings, the struggling girl in his arms, and her screams to focus on leaving the valley.
The mountains eventually ended, but Khan kept running. The encampment was one hour from the valley, but he planned to reach it in less than thirty minutes by maintaining his top speed.
His sensitivity to mana tried to send information to his brain, but Khan didn't let anything disturb his concentration. He feared what Liiza's pleading would do to his mind if he let them inside, and the situation didn't allow mistakes. He couldn't waste Yeza's sacrifice.
Not many kept up with his speed. The adults behind Khan did their best to salvage what they could, so they slowed down their escape on purpose to help the injured and make sure that they weren't leading monsters to their encampment. Some higher-ups even stopped running after a while to deal with the few creatures still in pursuit.
The camp never appeared in Khan's vision until he crossed an invisible barrier that transformed the scenes in his vision.. Familiar triangular structures and an old Niqols wearing a worried expression replaced the barren sh.o.r.es.
"[She lost her arm]!" Khan shouted, and Zalpa quickly pointed at one of the habitations.
Khan didn't hesitate to enter the tent and drop Liiza on the ground carefully. Wet cheeks and teary eyes inevitably appeared in his vision and forced him to accept how much Liiza had suffered during the escape, but Zalpa quickly pushed him away to handle her arm.
Khan didn't mind those rude manners. He kept his eyes on Liiza as he crouched on the ground and waited for Zalpa to work her magic. Liiza was only partially awake, so she didn't fight the old Niqols as she ripped her robe apart and began to draw lines on the left side of her chest. Zalpa initially used only mana during the process, but she cut her palm and added blood to retrace the signs.
Liiza ended up with three glowing red symbols by the time Zalpa left her. The ice that covered the hideous injury had long since shattered, but the blood loss had also stopped. Khan even saw the skin on the maimed shoulder twitch every few seconds.
"[The pain will soon become unbearable]," Zalpa explained after turning toward Khan. "[I need to take care of the others, so I can't be with her all the time. You must make sure that she won't remove the technique]."
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Khan nodded before approaching Liiza and sitting next to her as soon as Zalpa left that spot. He took her hand and held it tightly as that scene triggered other awful memories. He had been in the same situation on Istrone after the soldiers found Martha.
Zalpa opened her mouth, but she felt unable to say anything. She wanted a thorough description of the battle, but Khan was in no condition to give it.
"[I'll come back later to fix your arm and check on her]," Zalpa announced before heaving a deep sigh when she noticed that Khan didn't react to her words.
Khan couldn't feel the pain coming from his right arm. He didn't even bother to store his broken knife back in the sheath. The weapon remained on the ground to his right while he left worried kisses on Liiza's hand and hoped with everything he had that everything would go well.
"[It tickles, dummy]," Liiza said in a weak voice as some clarity returned in her eyes.
Khan immediately bent forward to caress her hair. Liiza revealed a warm smile as she lost herself in his warmth, but the glow of the red symbols suddenly intensified and transformed her face into an expression of pure pain.
Liiza screamed in pain and tried to turn, but Khan pulled her hand and used that chance to make her lay her head on his lap. Liiza didn't calm down and threatened to lay on her left, so Khan wrapped an arm around her neck and pushed her down from her right shoulder.
Liiza kicked and tried to break free, but Khan was too strong. She tried to summon her mana, but the pain was too intense. Desperation eventually filled her mind and made her rely on pleads.
"[Khan, make it stop]," Liiza pleaded in a broken voice.
A scream followed her words, and Liiza didn't forget to fix her desperate eyes on Khan when the wave of pain ended. He wanted to look away, but he couldn't leave her alone during the process, so he endured his desire to interrupt the procedure and shook his head.
Liiza soon screamed again, and her struggles didn't stop. Pleads came out of her mind whenever the pain allowed her to think, and some of them became curses as Khan kept refusing her.
The healing process tortured both of them. Liiza was so in so much pain that she started threatening Khan with topics that she knew would hurt him. She used their relationship, and her words felt like knives that pierced his chest whenever they reached his ears.
Khan never answered. He couldn't find the strength to speak there, and his only consolation came from the state of Liiza's injury. New flesh appeared during the most painful phases of the healing process. Bones, muscles, and skin slowly grew to recreate the missing limb.
The pain wasn't constant. The red symbols gave Liiza a break when her mind and body were about to reach a breaking point. She could finally calm down in those moments, but the memories of her threats didn't allow her to rest.
"[I'm sorry]," Liiza said during one of the breaks as tears fell from her eyes. "[I don't want to say those things, but it hurts so much]."
Khan felt able to speak again when he gazed at her regretful expression. He revealed a proud smile before whispering words in the most loving tone that he could muster. "[Don't worry about me. You are doing great]."
"[Khan]," Liiza called as fear seeped in her voice, "[It's coming back. I can feel it. Quick, make someone else take your place. I don't want to say those things to you]."
"[I'm not going anywhere]," Khan stated before bending forward to leave a long kiss on Liiza's forehead.
Liiza smiled, but the pain quickly returned and restarted the cycle of screams, curses, and threats. Khan didn't budge, and his eyes often fell on the growing arm as he tried to calculate how long that process had to last. The results of his study were disheartening, to say the least.
Zalpa entered the tent to check on the couple a few times, but she found herself unable to do anything. Liiza only had to wait for the technique to end, and Khan refused to let her hand go to get his arm treated. Also, he hoped that the pain spreading from his injuries would replace what he experienced during Liiza's screams, but his mind betrayed him.
The healing process lasted almost half a day. The pain ended and the red symbols went dark when Liiza's arm completely regrew. The limb was slightly darker than the rest of her body, but it slowly returned to its natural color.
Liiza finally managed to sleep after everything ended, but Khan didn't let her go. He remained awake and listened to her breathing to confirm that everything was alright. He even caressed her whenever bad dreams tried to ruin her rest.
'What will happen to us now?' Khan wondered while Liiza rested.
His relationship wasn't at stake, but too much had happened during the crisis. The Niqols had lost their main amba.s.sador, and the monsters had decimated his group. Khan wasn't even sure of how many had survived since he had yet to leave the tent.
His worries and thoughts vanished when Liiza woke up and smiled at him. The two exchanged a long kiss that tried to make up for everything they had to endure during the healing process. Liiza even checked her new limb, but it still felt too sore to work properly.
"[Don't get up]," Khan ordered, but Liiza didn't listen to him.
"[I want to see who survived]," Liiza said while dressing and straightening her back, but she suddenly lost her balance.
Khan moved to make her fall on his chest. Liiza sniffed as she held his robe tightly. She felt weak and useless, but Khan decided to fulfill her wish. He wrapped an arm around her back and helped her stand up.
Liiza and Khan walked out of the tent slowly, and he never let her leave his arms. The camp appeared empty when it unfolded in their vision, but they found Zalpa sitting next to a tent as they started inspecting it.
"[What do you think you are doing]?" Zalpa scolded when she saw the couple.
"[How is the situation]?" Khan asked.
Zalpa wanted to force Liiza to rest, but she found it impossible to ignore her begging expression. The old Niqols heaved a helpless sigh before standing up and doing her best to summarize the situation. "[Very few have survived]."
"[Can we see them]?" Khan continued.
"[None of them are alone]," Zalpa explained. "[You would only disturb them now. Let everyone rest for the rest of the day. We'll understand what to do tomorrow]."
"[Zaza]," Liiza pleaded.
"[I can't right now, Lii]," Zalpa didn't give in. "[It's not only about the physical injuries. The battle might have broken some of them]."
Liiza could only give up on her request in front of Zalpa's firm refusal. She pulled Khan's robe, and he understood the hidden meaning behind her action. He nodded at Zalpa before walking Liiza back to their tent.
Khan sat on the ground, and Liiza took her place on his lap. The girl forced herself to use her left arm, but it was still too unresponsive. Yet, she used her other limb to place it inside Khan's robe and perform an odd hug.
"[How are you]?" Khan felt the need to ask when tears fell from Liiza's eyes. He didn't want to leave her alone with her thoughts.
"[I'm broken]," Liiza whispered as she adjusted her position to hide her face in Khan's neck. "[My planet is experiencing a global crisis, deaths have become a normal occurrence in my eyes, and the person I trust the most is a human met a bit more than six months ago. I'm deeply and thoroughly broken]."
Khan remained silent as he tightened his embrace. Liiza started to kiss his neck to deal with her sorrow according to the Niqols' way, but sobs soon interrupted her. Her grief was too intense to deal with it by losing herself in her boyfriend's warmth.
"[It's fine]," Khan whispered to her ear. "[I'm here]."
Liiza exploded into tears. She sobbed loudly and wrapped her legs around Khan's waist in a desperate attempt to get even closer to him. A sad cry eventually escaped her mouth as Khan did his best to support her. "[It would have been easier if I still hated her]."
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Author's notes: I'm super late today. The second chapter will arrive in some hours.
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